Tablets enhance the design experience in Affinity products, with the tablet pen (or pen stylus) providing a natural drawing experience, just like a household pen. Affinity does not officially support non-Wacom tablets. Please consult the original manufacturer for assistance with their tablet products. Affinity Photo’s super smooth brush engine and advanced dynamics offers the most fluid and natural painting experience available. + Huge library of brushes included + Create custom brushes with advanced dynamics + Combine multiple brushes together in a single stroke + Full support for Wacom.
A message from the Affinity team
Affinity photo/ designer do have great brushes though but they need work - the air brushes are sensitive and you have to set the flow down so low and it’s still not great. I hope they spend more time tweaking them in future and adding more features to them. You can find it in the Wacom Tablet Properties, select the pen, then under 'Calibrate' there is the toggle in the bottom left corner. I know, where else would You look for that toggle? However I stopped painting in Photo because the brush engine in Affinity seemed a bit.
As a way to lend support to the creative community during these difficult times, we’re once again offering a 90-day free trial of the Mac and Windows versions of the whole Affinity suite, for anyone who wants to use them (even those who have previously completed a free trial). We’re also bringing back the 50% discount for those who would prefer to buy and keep the apps, including our iPad versions.
More info about supporting the creative community initiativeIn other news…
our apps are fully optimized for the next generation of Mac
Ready to go on Apple’s Big Sur and primed to deliver superfast performance on Macs with M1 chips, recent updates to the macOS versions of our apps mean huge performance gains.
Learn more about Apple and Affinity updatesThis is a list with the top 10 best software for a Wacomdrawing tablet:
- Adobe Photoshop (image editing, digital art, sketching)
- Adobe Illustrator (logo design, vector illustration)
- Corel Painter (digital painting, sketching)
- Clip Studio Paint (comics, illustration, 2D animation)
- Autodesk SketchBook (digital art, sketching)
- Affinity Designer (digital art, logo design, vector illustration)
- Krita (digital art, sketching, 2D animation)
- GIMP (image editing, digital art, sketching)
- Inkscape (logo design, vector illustration)
- ArtRage (digital art, sketching)
- Corel Draw (Bonus) (logo design, vector illustration)
Adobe Photoshop
What does Photoshop do?
The most important software for image editing and artcreation. Photoshop is the industry standard and always the first software tobe studied by those who intend to work in the digital art creation.
This is a tool-rich application that allows its users tomanipulate photographs and illustrations in great detail.
Most of the pictures and graphics currently being used onthe internet today were created with Adobe Photoshop.
You may visit Adobe Photoshop’s website by clicking here.
Who is Photoshop for?
- Photographers
- Illustrators
- Designers
- Concept artists
Can be installed in which operating systems?
Is Photoshop free?
No.
Photoshop has a trial period of 30 days in which it’sentirely free. After the trial expires, the user is requested to pay for amembership.
Hint: Adobe Photoshop’s membership is veryaffordable, and those who accept to pay just a little bit more gain accessto all of the Adobe Creative Suite, which includes professional software suchas Adobe Illustrator (vector art), Adobe After Effects (animation), Adobe Premiere (video editing), Adobe Dreamweaver (webdevelopment) among others.
Adobe Illustrator
What does Illustrator do?
The leading vector software in the market.
Adobe Illustrator is, without question, the main toolused by logo designers and vector artists.
While Photoshop is perfect for raster graphics (images madeof pixels), Illustrator is completely vector-based.
Logos, illustrations and graphics made with AdobeIllustrator are infinitely scalable. No matter how much these images areincreased in size, there’s absolutely no quality loss.
Hint: vector files are also the preferred format forprinted materials.
You may visit Adobe Illustrator’s website by clicking here.
Who is Illustrator for?
- Logo designers
- Illustrators
- Printing specialists
Is Illustrator free?
No.
Adobe Illustrator, like Photoshop, has a 30-day trial periodin which it can be used to its fullest. At the end of the trial the user isrequested to pay for a subscription.
Again, like Photoshop, the subscription is affordable and ifthe user accepts to pay a little bit more, all of the other applications fromthe Adobe Creative Suite becomes available.
Corel Painter
What does it do?
Best software for creating digital artwork that looks likeit was painted with real paint.
Although many digital artists can create stunningillustrations with Photoshop, Painter goes a little further when it comes toemulating different types of brushes and painting materials.
Painter lets the user choose backgrounds with specifictextures emulating different types of paper. The selection of brushes is also mindboggling,but what really sets this application from other is its set of paints.
It’s possible to pick oil paint, watercolor, spray paint, crayonsamong many, many others.
The difference between the materials is substantial and eventhe way these paints and brushed interact with each other affect the result.
Creating with Painter is like having an entire art storeinside of a computer.
You may visit Painter’s website by clicking here.
Who is Painter for?
- Concept artists
- Illustrators
- Painters
Is Painter free?
No.
Painter is the most expensive software from this list. UnlikeAdobe, that charges a monthly subscription fee, Painter is sold for a fixedprice.
Due to its price, this application is mostly used byprofessionals.
Clip Studio Paint
What does Clip Studio Paint do?
It works very similarly to Adobe Photoshop. Some call it aknockoff version of Adobe’s most popular application.
One of the reasons why Clip Studio Paint became somewhat popularis the fact that it comes as a bonus to those who purchase a Wacom Intuosdrawing tablet. As you must have imagined, there’s a catch. Only Wacom drawingtablets bought in the Americas come with the free software.
In case you purchase your Wacom Intuos from the UnitedStates, Canada, Brazil or any other country in the region, a license to ClipStudio will be provided by the company.
You may visit Clip Studio Paint’s website by clicking here.
Who is Clip Studio Paint for?
- Illustrators
- Digital artists
Is Clip Studio Paint free?
No, but it’s very affordable.
There are thee important aspects to be mentioned about thisapplication’s price:
- There is a 30-day trial period
- A monthly subscription model is available (costs less than a dollar)
- Buying the whole software for a one-time fee is incredibly cheap.
Autodesk SketchBook
What does Autodesk SketchBook do?
It sits somewhere between Adobe Photoshop and Painter.
Truth be told, it’s not as good as the others, but it has oneadvantage worth mentioning.
This software works on regular computers (as the otherapplications from this list), but it can also be used in mobile devices likecellphones.
You may visit Autodesk SketchBook’s website by clicking here.
Who is Autodesk SketchBook for?
- Students
- Occasional illustrators
Is Autodesk SketchBook free?
Yes, it’s free for individuals. All it takes iscreating an account and the user can access all the features available.
Only companies need to get a paid licence to use it. Regardlessof that, the license is one of the most affordable ones within the digital artmarket.
Affinity Designer
What does Affinity Designer do?
Affinity Designer is one of the most promising design /illustration applications released within the last few years.
It has a characteristic that sets it apart from all theothers. While other programs work either for raster graphics (pixel-based) orvector graphics, Affinity Designer does both really well.
Within the app it’s possible to switch between a raster and a vector mode, which gives the user creative and technical freedomthat goes beyond what has been seen up until now.
Another amazing thing about Affinity Designer is that itworks both on computers and mobile devices.
You may visit Affinity Designer’s website by clicking here.
Who is Affinity Designer for?
- Illustrators
- Designers
- Digital artists
- Concept artists
- Students
- Professionals
Is Affinity Designer free?
No. Even though the app can be used in different devices(Windows based / Mac / iPad), each one has a different license with a differentprice.
They are all affordable, but none is free.
Krita
What does Krita do?
Krita is a raster graphics editor for those who want todabble in the digital art world.
It’s nowhere near as good as Adobe Photoshop or Painter, butit can be a good choice for someone who is just starting now.
Even though I strongly believe that beginners should first masterindustry-grade software like Photoshop, I understand that the price can keep somestudents away from getting started.
Krita has two features worth mentioning:
Wacom Affinity Photo
- It runs on Windows, Mac and Linux (it’s rare tofind this)
- It’s an open source project, the developers workentirely for free.
You may visit Krita’s website by clicking here.
Who is Krita for?
- Illustrators
- Students
Is Krita free?
Yes. Krita is entirely free and I deeply respect thedevelopers who work on this project because through their hard work new artistsare able to create without spending a single dime.
GIMP
What does GIMP do?
GIMP is probably the best free option for Adobe Photoshop.It can be used for picture editing and digital art.
This is the software I like to use whenever I’m unable touse Photoshop. I highly encourage everyone who works in the digital artindustry to master at the very least two different applications for eachskillset. Meaning, if you’re already familiar with Photoshop, take some time tolearn GIMP.
Knowing how to use different apps is extremely importantbecause sometimes, due to technical issues or simply bad luck, you may not beable to work with your favorite app. On top of that, every illustration /design studio considers this a desirable trait for a designer / illustrator.
GIMP is an open-source raster graphics editor with a verystrong community behind it.
You may visit GIMP’s website by clicking here.
Who is GIMP for?
Wacom Cintiq 16 Affinity Designer
- Illustrators
- Designers
- Photographers
- Students
Is GIMP free?
Yes. Being an open-source application means that GIMPis entirely free.
Inkscape
What does Inkscape do?
Inkscape is a vector graphics application, just like AdobeIllustrator.
For someone who has been using Adobe Illustrator for a longtime, adapting to Inkscape is not that easy.
In theory, this software can do virtually anything thatIllustrator does, but the workflow is considerably different. The way the toolsare organized also differs from Adobe’s app. Getting used to a different way ofworking can be frustrating and time consuming.
That said, for those who are not familiar with Adobe Illustrator,Inkscape can be a great option for logo design and vector illustration.
Inkscape is the result of a long and ongoing process ofopen-source, community-driven development.
You may visit Inkscape’s website by clicking here.
Who is Inkscape for?
- Illustrators
- Designers
Is Inkscape free?
Yes. Inkscape is entirely free. All the developersare volunteers who dedicate their time to improve everyone’s access to a high-qualityalternative to Illustrator.
ArtRage
What does ArtRage do?
ArtRage is the most recent addition to this list and definitelythe least-known application on this article.
By looking at illustrations made with ArtRage, it’s impossiblenot to think about Painter. Although this app is nowhere as feature richas its more popular counterpart, it can be used to create amazing artwork aswell.
While it’s true that ArtRage is substantially cheaper than otheroptions out there, most people would be better off by investing their money inthe already successful Painter.
You may visit ArtRage’s website by clicking here.
Who is ArtRage for?
- Illustrators
- Digital artists
Is ArtRage free?
No. Although ArtRage is not particularly expensive,it still is a paid software.
Corel Draw
What does Corel Draw do?
Corel Draw used to be the most popular vectorsoftware in the world. It was even more widely used than Adobe Illustrator.
As time went on and Adobe became increasingly more relevant,Corel Draw started a descending curve that has never stopped.
To be fair, although this application is nowhere near ascommon in design studios as Adobe Illustrator, it’s an extremely powerfulsoftware that has all the resources any vector artist or designer would need.
What really weighs against Corel Draw is that fact thatvirtually every single employer would rather hire someone who is well versed inAdobe Illustrator over someone who has dedicated their years to mastering CorelDraw.
You may visit Corel Draw’s website by clicking here.
Who is Corel Draw for?
- Vector Illustrators
- Designers
Is Corel Draw free?
No. Corel Draw is currently being offered on a monthlysubscription base. It costs almost the same as Adobe Illustrator and it’s up toeach individual to choose which software is more suitable to their needs.
Conclusion
Since the best artists and designers use the best tools,people tend to think that the tools are a fundamental part of the artist’ssuccess.
This could not be further a way from the truth. Great artistsare great not because of the applications they work with, but because of theirdedication to learn their craft.
Learning to how to express ideas through colors and shapesis the real end goal, the software is just a tool.
Use this guide to help you pick the tool that best fits yourneeds but try not to worry too much about this. Instead, focus on developingcore abilities, and, above all, practice as much as possible.
Remember to keep on creating!
Bruno Santos